Improvement in breech-loading fire-arms



PATENT EroE.

ANDREW BURGESS, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

IMPROVEMENT IN BREECH-LOADING FIRE-ARMS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 119,218, datedSeptember 26, 1871.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ANDREW BURGESS, of the city of New York, in thecounty and State of New York, have invented a new and useful Improvementin Breech-Loading Fire-Arms and I do hereby declare that the followingis a full, clear, and exact description thereof, which will enableothers skilled in the art to make and use the same, reference being hadto the accompanying drawing forming part of this specification.

This invention relates to new and useful improvements in that class offire-arms that are to be loaded at the breech; and consists in theconstruction and mode of operating the breechblock and the retractor,and in the arrangement and combination of parts hereinafter more fullyset forth and described.

In the accompanying drawing, Figure 1 represents a longitudinal Verticalcentral section, showing the breech-block and mode of operating it. Fig.2 shows the retractor, and the manner in which it is connected with thehammer and made to operate upon the cartridge-shell.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts.

Ais the bed-piece, into which the barrel screws, and which receives thebreech-block and other mechanism belonging to the gun. B is thebreechblock, which is pivoted to the bed at the point C, and is placedin a chamber or mortise in the bed so that its forward end may be raisedand lowered in loading and discharging the piece. As seen in Fig. 1, thebreechblock and its working mechanism is seen as when the trigger hasbeen pulled and the projectile discharged. D is the hammer, the lowerportion of which forms the tumbler E. F is the main spring; G is thedog, which is detached from the tumbler by the trigger in the act offiring the piece. H represents a toggle-joint, to the joint-pivot ofwhich is attached the'hook I. J is the trigger. The toggle-joint isoperated by the trigger to straighten the pivot or to bring it into theposition seen in.

Fig. 1. It will be seen that the hook I is engaged with a notch in thetumbler at K. L is a spring which bears down on the hook with a constantpressure. In drawing back the hammer or cocking the piece thetogglejoint will be drawn into the position seen in Fig. 2, which willdraw down the breech-block, as seen in dotted lines in that figure, forextracting the empty cartridge-shell and inserting the cartridge. N is aset-screw in the tumbler. In drawing back thehammer the head of thescrew comes in contact with the hook and detaches it from the notch Kinthe tumbler. O is the retractor-rod, one end of which is pivoted to therod P; the other end of the rod is turned to a right angle and engageswith the projection g on the back of the tumbler. When the rod slipsover this notch q it is thrown back by the spring It. This spring R isnotched out to receive the entire rod, and it is so curved or made tostand at such an angle that it holds the rod down while throwing itback. Z is the retractor-stop, which slides on the bed back of thehammer, which, being pushed forward under the rear end of theretractor-rod, allows the hammer to be drawn back, carrying theretractor-rod over the projection (1 without working the retractor whenit is desired to carry the arm loaded, said stop being prevented fromreturning by the friction produced by set-screws or a spring attachedthereto. The end of the bar P i,* turned so that its point works in aslot in th( )arrel and engages with the flange or base 0 ,hecartridgeshell, the same as an ordinary re actor. T is a spring, whichbears upon the dog G and keeps its end in contact with the tumbler. U isan adjustingscrew, by which the time for disengaging the dog isgoverned. \Vhen the tumbleris released from the dog the hammer, by thepressure of the main spring, is thrown forward and strikes the end ofthe discharging-pin, seen in dotted lines through the breech-block inFig. l, and explodes the cartridge by percussion.

By the operation of the toggle-j oint H increased power and decreasedmotion is insuredwhen the breech-block is closing and the toggle-jointis nearly straight, and increased motion and decreased power when drawnfrom that position.

With the improvements herein shown and described the mechanism of thebreech-loading gun is greatly simplified; the operation of opening thebreech and extracting the shell being performed by drawing back thehammer, and the operation of closing the breech and discharging thepiece being performed by the one motion of pulling the trigger.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent' 1. The togglejoint in combination with a pivotedbreech-block, B, substantially as specified.

2. The combination of the trigger J, hook I, tumbler E of the hammer D,breech-block B, and toggle H, substantially as specified.

3. The trigger J connected with the toggle H, and arranged so that itshall operate the dog G simultaneously with the closing of thebreechblock B, and thereby release the hammer and cause the discharge ofthe piece, substantially as specified.

4:- The retractor-rod 0, bar P bent at its rear end, and spring R, incombination with the hammer grooved and provided with the projection q,as shown and described.

5. The retractor-stop Z in combination with the retractor of abreech-loading fire-arm, substantially as described.

ANDREW BURGESS.

Witnesses:

T. B. MOSHER,

ALEX. F. ROBERTS. (33)

